SPIRIT BlogOctober 3, 2014An Autumnal New YearRev. PressleyShanah Tovah, friends.Happy Rosh Hashanah and High Holy Days to all of our Jewish friends and
members.What a beautiful time of year
to remember the source of all life, be mindful of harmful actions and
directions we have taken, and return to our Creator with thanksgiving as a new
annual cycle begins.I love the idea of beginning of a new year at this time in
the Northern Hemisphere.Our traditional
new year according to the Gregorian calendar places it in the austerity of the
winter season the further north we travel.But in Mediterranean climates, the autumn solstice brings relief from
hot, hot long days when it seems that only the most adaptable plants are able
to bear up.After the solstice, fishers
were able to come in from the seas and the land itself seemed to breathe a sigh
of relief.What a good time for us, too,
to breathe and be grateful for and trusting of God’s graces.Here in west central Florida we have a similar experience of
the autumnal seasonal change to that of early Hebrews (with a lot more
moisture.)In the summer, all but the
hardiest plants seemed to send their energy down to their roots to survive the
heat, and and now they begin to green above ground again.When asked to write a poem for our Fall
Fling a couple of weeks ago, I felt a deep sense of happiness as the autumn
seemed like a fresh encounter with the graces of God again here. Autumn Tampa, FLHere, toward the end of the voyage,A possibility surfaces as radical
and telling as thePleiades on this autumn night:Perhaps now there is time for
joy.Perhaps happinessIs our winter port, our dwelling
after such earnest sailing, whereNext we may walk our fields and
sing of honest Efforts and potential secreted in
these earthen moundsSoon to be awakened by the graces
of our MotherSoftly whispering, “The harsh sun
is past.”I pray that this will be a season of relief, renewal and
returning for each of us.Glad you’re there,Rev. Pressley

Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa, 408 East Cayuga Street, Tampa FL 33603 PHONE:(813)239-1951